NIJ's Standing Review Panels

About NIJ's Standing Review Panels

The Standing Review Panels (SRPs) represent NIJ's continuing commitment to the scientific integrity at the heart of its mission. Any science agency awarding external research grants must rely on a well-founded peer review process. By adopting SRPs, NIJ is following a model for peer review that has been extensively tested and is now relied on by most federal science agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences.

NIJ is confident that SRPs will help us make well-informed decisions about our research investments. Based on positive results from the first several years of SRPs, NIJ has committed to continuing to use SRPs in our peer review process.

SRP Structure and Function

An SRP consists of about 15 rotating members who serve three-year terms. Ad hoc members may be appointed on a temporary basis to fill in for members who cannot serve in a given year or to provide additional needed expertise.

Each SRP convenes annually in Washington, D.C., for two to three days in mid- to late June. At the meeting, the full panel discusses the most competitive applications and determines a final peer review score for each application.

Before the meeting, each proposal is assigned to a pair of panel members to conduct an initial written technical merit review (TMR). Panelists are given at least three weeks to complete their written reviews. Depending on panel size and application volume, each member may be asked to review three to 12 proposals. Only the top-scoring applications from the TMR round advance to consideration by the full panel. At the in-person meeting, each TMR reviewer pair leads the full panel in discussion and evaluation of those proposals. The full panel then votes to determine a consensus final peer review score.

Selecting Panelists

NIJ selects panelists based on research and practical experience in their areas of expertise. The NIJ Consultant Information Database is one source that we use to identify potential panelists. While we invite researchers and practitioners to register on
NIJ's Consultant Information SystemExit Notice, it is not necessary to become a panelist, nor is it guaranteed that you will be selected to serve on a panel.

Note

[1] Proposals in the forensic disciplines of impression and pattern evidence and trace evidence were evaluated by separate SRPs. All other proposals submitted under this solicitation were evaluated through an ad hoc peer review process.